My brother and I were startled when we saw that man. Seeing the pursuers still coming from behind, we grabbed him and ran. "Hurry! Hurry! Don't worry about anything else. Just run!"
Before Yu Chi Cheng could come to his senses, he was dragged away by my brother and me. We ran like crazy all the way. Even later, I never understood why he followed us when it was my brother and I who had caused the trouble...
"Hey, what's going on?" Yu Chi Cheng saw that my brother and I were running too slowly, so he grabbed me.
I said, "Can't you see with your own eyes? We're being chased by ruffians!"
Yu Chi Cheng said, "Then why don't you go to the Prefect of the Capital?"
My brother and I then suddenly realized. We slapped our foreheads and said, "Right! We can go to the Prefect of the Capital."
Yu Chi Cheng looked speechless. The expression on his face seemed to be saying, "Do you know more about the officials of the Great Yong Dynasty than I do?"
I pretended not to see it and started looking for the way to the yamen of the Prefect of the Capital. Just then, we came to a fork in the road. My brother ran off to the left on his own, but Yu Chi Cheng pulled me to the right. "This way!"
I was dragged forward by Yu Chi Cheng all the way. The pursuers behind us also split into two groups, and their shouts were not as fierce as before.
I looked back at them and then forward. I saw a man in red wearing a bamboo hat coming towards us. I was about to bump into him, so I stopped abruptly in a panic. Who would have thought that Yu Chi Cheng was faster than me? He directly pulled me into the man's arms and spun around a few times. His back just brushed against the man's chest.
The wind from our movement lifted the veil on the man's bamboo hat. I accidentally caught a glimpse of his face and was immediately stunned—
What does it mean to be peerlessly beautiful? This is it! What does it mean to be full of killing intent? This is it!
The man had a coquettishly beautiful appearance, but he gave us a very cold and haughty look and then turned away. Yu Chi Cheng took me and continued running. We heard the sound of a group of people behind us stopping and giving way. My brother and I looked back and saw that the people who were chasing us respectfully stepped aside to let the man in red and his subordinates pass.
This was a golden opportunity. Without thinking about the identity of that man, Yu Chi Cheng and I ran straight to the yamen of the Prefect of the Capital...
"Hey... do you think that beauty just now was a man or a woman?" On the way, I couldn't help asking Yu Chi Cheng.
Yu Chi Cheng simply said, "A man."
I was curious. "How do you know?"
Yu Chi Cheng disdained, "Didn't my back brush against his chest? What woman has such a flat chest?"
I blushed immediately. I broke free from his hand and shouted, "Ruffian!"
But he just smiled and held my hand tighter. He whispered, "Xi He, don't be afraid. The yamen of the Prefect of the Capital is just ahead."
...
Inside the yamen of the Prefect of the Capital, Yu Chi Cheng, my brother who came later, and I were drinking the tea brewed by the prefect with a guilty conscience. We listened to the sound of the boards hitting the flesh and the screams of those people outside through the bamboo curtain. None of us wanted to answer the prefect's questions.
"My little ancestors, please tell me how you offended these people. I can only convict them based on that!" The prefect paced back and forth behind us and asked the same question again.
My brother and I glanced at each other. We thought it would be an insult to either of us to say that one of us had been molested, so we both looked at Yu Chi Cheng. Yu Chi Cheng felt cold all over under our gazes. He suddenly asked, "What do you want to do?"
I had already come up with a plan. I gave him a smile and then turned to the prefect and said, "Sir, today my brother and I got the permission from the queen mother to leave the palace. We took Prince Cheng from the Northern Cold Region for a stroll on the street. Who would have thought that while we were walking, Prince Cheng accidentally bumped into that Master Liu. Master Liu was very angry at first, but when he saw that Prince Cheng was good-looking, he got lustful and molested Prince Cheng. My brother and I couldn't stand it, so we beat him up. Who knew that there were his lackeys nearby, so in the end, the three of us were chased all over the street by them."
My brother immediately nodded after hearing this. "Yes, that's exactly what happened! I saw it with my own eyes. That Master Liu got lustful and wanted to get closer to kiss Prince Cheng..."
"Smack!" Before my brother could finish his sentence, a corner of the prefect's red sandalwood table was missing. Yu Chi Cheng was looking at us with an ashen face. The missing corner of the table was his masterpiece. We quickly hid behind the prefect. My brother said, "Sir, you see. I said that this kind of thing can't be said casually. You see, he's angry because his sore spot has been touched!"
The prefect quickly wiped the sweat off his face. He glanced at Yu Chi Cheng and then looked back at us. Then he forced a smile and said, "Hahaha, Master Liu really has a unique taste. It turns out that even though he likes men, he still prefers to be the submissive one..."
As soon as he said this, Yu Chi Cheng's face turned even greener. My brother and I were stunned for a long time before we realized what he meant. Then we chased after the prefect and beat him up. "Sir, how can you talk like that!"
Damn it! He actually dared to say that we were weak and Yu Chi Cheng was strong! He clearly wanted to expose our lie and say that Master Liu would not choose someone who looked hard to bully but would rather molest us who were easy to bully!
The prefect begged for mercy while being chased and beaten by us. Then he quickly said, "Okay, okay. I was wrong, alright? I'll go and summon Master Liu to be convicted. Don't make a scene."
Hearing this, my brother and I both stopped. Looking at the prefect's official hat that had been knocked askew by us, we snorted and walked back to Yu Chi Cheng's side. The prefect straightened his hat, bowed, and then went out. But Yu Chi Cheng suddenly called out angrily, "Xi He!"
I then realized that going back to Yu Chi Cheng's side was like a lamb walking into the tiger's den. I immediately scattered and separated from my brother, but we still couldn't avoid a fight. Of course, the people fighting were my brother who was protecting me and Yu Chi Cheng. It was a pity for the reception hall of the prefect. It was completely demolished by us...
Many years after this incident, what I remembered was not Yu Chi Cheng's angry look at that time, but the prefect's tearful face when he came back and saw the reception hall after dealing with Master Liu's case...
...
We weren't interested in knowing the process of dealing with Master Liu's case. But when we heard that he was beaten so badly by the boards that he couldn't get up, sit up, or stand up, my brother and I felt really relieved.
Because of the previous running and the subsequent fierce fight, my brother and Yu Chi Cheng were both too tired to talk. Only I was still in a good mood after leaving the yamen of the Prefect of the Capital. I pulled them both to go and eat delicious food.
In the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, the two of them had another disagreement over the issue of ordering food.
My brother said, "I want to eat braised crucian carp."
Yu Chi Cheng said, "It's summer and people tend to have excessive internal heat. Steamed crucian carp is better."
My brother said, "Then bring a plate of braised spare ribs."
Yu Chi Cheng flipped through the menu. "Sweet and sour spare ribs are better."
My brother stared. "Stewed salted duck."
Yu Chi Cheng buried his head and murmured, "Soy sauce duck."
My brother gritted his teeth. "Roast young chicken!"
Yu Chi Cheng said calmly, "Roast goose."
My brother finally slapped the table. "Crystal lily."
Yu Chi Cheng raised his eyes and glanced at him briefly. Then he closed the menu and said, "They don't have it here."
My brother exploded. The waiter was sweating profusely.
Then Yu Chi Cheng looked at me who was not saying a word beside him and stuffed the menu into my hand. "Then let Xi He order."